1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nail driving apparatus which is particularly useful for driving nails in areas or places where it is difficult to use an ordinary hammer.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous occasions arise where it is necessary to drive a nail to hold components together, but where the location of the components is such that it is impossible to utilize a standard hammer to drive the nail. Typically, in such cases, there is inadequate room to swing the hammer to obtain the necessary velocity to drive the nail.
Various devices have been developed in an effort to overcome the foregoing problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,475 discloses a nail driving apparatus comprising a tube member which functions as a guide for a rod member which is attached to a handle. In operation, a nail is placed within the tube member at a lower end thereof. The rod member, which is slidable moveable within the tube member is then raised in relation to the nail by lifting the handle. The handle is then forcefully driven downward which results in the rod member striking the nail, thereby driving the nail into a surface. This action is repeated until the nail is driven to the desired depth.
Notwithstanding the fact that the foregoing nail driving apparatus allows nails to be driven in areas not suitable for use of a standard hammer, such known nail driving apparatus suffer from significant drawbacks. For example, one significant drawback is that the rod member can be completely removed from the tube member if the operator retracts the handle to far. As a result, the operator must make slower more deliberate movements to insure the rod member remains in the tube member, which results in an increase in hammering time to drive a given nail. It also typically results in decreased hammering force because the operator naturally limits the upper swing of the handle to prevent the rod member from separating from the tube member.
Another disadvantage is that known nail driving apparatus do not provide a simple, cost effective means of securing the rod member within the tube member when the device is not in use. This is desirable in order to minimize the size of the device for storage, as well as to minimize the likelihood of inadvertent damage to the device.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a nail driving apparatus that eliminates the possibility of the rod member from being inadvertently dislodged from the tube member during operation, and that provides a simple, cost effective means for securing the rod member to the tube member when the device is stored.